Analysis by an industry leader has examined how the type of borrower affects the likelihood of a mortgage default

Phil Riches, proprietor of Model Mortgages, confesses that although it wasn’t love at first sight, after a quick courtship (during which he overcame his mental block about technology) he is now smitten with ApplyOnline ‘Supporting Documents’ service.

Thanks to his proactive Model Mortgages partner and wife, Virginia Graham, Riches confronted his resistance head-on and is now a passionate and vocal advocate for ‘Supporting Docs’.

“We’ve been writing our biggest volumes ever since we’ve been streamlining our processes using Supporting Docs,” Riches says. “Last week I put through an application with St George via ApplyOnline and Supporting Docs – a complete file. They picked it up Tuesday morning and within two hours I received unconditional approval.

“The client was beside himself – it blew his socks off! He said he told everyone he knew!” Riches makes the point: “If you make it easy for clients, not only do they credit you, they also know that the bank really wants their business. If it takes weeks, a client gets the feeling that the bank doesn’t want their business. Consequently, the bank can potentially lose the deal.” NextGen.Net’s Supporting Docs service is fast acquiring a reputation as a ‘game changer’ due to its ability to slash turnaround times and lift Straight-Through Processing.

The service identifies and captures mandatory documents at Point of Sale and validates them against lender policy conditions.

Over the past 18 months, Supporting Docs has gone live with a large number of lenders, now reaching critical mass. This month will see Connective Home Loans and LoanMarket offer Supporting Docs with a number of other lenders scheduled to go live in the near future.

NextGen.Net sales director Tony Carn says the positive feedback received in response to the ApplyOnline Supporting Docs service has been phenomenal, “particularly from the younger generation of brokers, who are technology focused and already running paperless offi ces, and actively looking to introduce new effi ciencies to their process”.

“It supports their brand and thinking and it’s extremely easy for administrative staff to use,” Carn says. But as Carn stresses for anyone such as Riches, who isn’t technology-savvy, a short training session smooths out the kinks, reveals the simplicity of the system, and builds confidence.

One of Graham’s most significant contributions to the jointly-owned Model Mortgages is in the back-end of the business and the establishment of support systems.

“Virginia is passionate about financial literacy,” Riches says. “She trains and up-skills our team, and is always looking ahead to see what technology we can use.

“I probably wouldn’t be running my own business without the support system she has provided.”

Riches is now such a fan of ApplyOnline, he maintains: “I really believe that without NextGen.Net and Supporting Docs, banks would still have us faxing and emailing applications. I’ll never forget when we had large files to contend with by fax!”

“These are the reasons it’s being hailed as an revolutionary step in loan processing effi ciencies,” says Carn. Riches and Graham have invested time and initiative into incorporating the Supporting Docs service into their business – integrating information across Connective’s CRM software – and to ultimately help them achieve a paperless office.“ApplyOnline Supporting Docs has freed up my time to generate new business and be more customer focused,” Riches says.

“I can’t tell you how satisfying and life changing it is to know that when I’m on the road I can send information to my assistants and have them prepare an application for me for submission.

“It means my time is spent generating sales, which is where it should be spent.”